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45 Sheppard 45 Sheppard Avenue East, Avenue East, Suite 106 A, Suite 106 A, Toronto Toronto

Tel: (416) 487 Tel: (416) 487 6371 6371

www.salc.on.ca www.salc.on.ca

•• The South Asian Legal Clinic of The South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario is a community legal clinic Ontario is a community legal clinic funded by Legal Aid Ontario (LAO).funded by Legal Aid Ontario (LAO).

•• We provide poverty law legal We provide poverty law legal advice, representation, public legal advice, representation, public legal education, community education, community development and law reform work development and law reform work for the lowfor the low--income South Asian income South Asian community in the Greater Toronto community in the Greater Toronto Area. Area.

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The complex patterns of violence that South Asian women confront are obscured by terms that exoticize violence, like “honour killing.” Yet, these terms elicit quite divergent responses from professionals, ranging from a strategic use of such terms to gain access to resources, to an outright rejection of these terms

in favour of generic designators of violence.

The complex patterns of violence that South Asian

women confront are obscured by terms that

exoticize violence, like “honour killing.” Yet, these

terms elicit quite divergent responses from

professionals, ranging from a strategic use of such

terms to gain access to resources, to an outright

rejection of these terms in favour of generic

designators of violence.

-Korteweg, Anna C.; Abji, Salin; Barnoff, Lisa; Mattoo, Deepa. “Citizenship, Culture, and

Violence Against Women: Social Service Provision in the South Asian Communities of the

GTA. CERIS Research Report. March 2013.

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““A forced marriage is a form of violence and A forced marriage is a form of violence and

an abuse of human rights. It is a practice in an abuse of human rights. It is a practice in

which a marriage takes place without the free which a marriage takes place without the free

consent of the individuals getting married. consent of the individuals getting married.

Forced marriage can happen to anyone; of any Forced marriage can happen to anyone; of any

gender, of any age.gender, of any age.”” --

SALCO/NAAFMSALCO/NAAFM

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Both men and women of all

ages and cultural, religious and

socio-economic background

experience FM. -SALCO/NAAFM

Both men and women of all

ages and cultural, religious and

socio-economic background

experience FM. --SALCO/NAAFMSALCO/NAAFM

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FM and arranged marriage are often mistakenly

conflated. Arranged marriage has the full, free, and

informed consent of both parties who are getting

married, while FM lacks that same consent.

Arrange Marriage

Forced Marriage

Forced Marriage and

Human Trafficking

In case of a FM incident it may Involve a

single or multiple perpetrator trafficking a

victim domestically or internationally.

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FORCED MARRIAGE:

LEGISLATION IN CANADA

• So far the issue of forced marriage has not yet been

formally addressed in Canada.

• There are various provisions in family law, immigration

law, and criminal law identify scenarios related to

potential consequences of marriage without consent.

• Canada is also a signatory to several international

consensus documents and treaties related to FM.

•6/11/2013 11

The Forced Marriage (FM) ProjectThe Forced Marriage (FM) Project

•• Since 2005Since 2005

•• FM Project Advisory Committee FM Project Advisory Committee –– 20072007

•• International Symposium International Symposium -- 20082008

•• Network of Agencies Against Forced Marriages Network of Agencies Against Forced Marriages (NAAFM) and Service Providers training tool kit (NAAFM) and Service Providers training tool kit --20102010

•• National Conference and Survey leading to a policy National Conference and Survey leading to a policy recommendations recommendations –– 2012/ 2013.2012/ 2013.

FORCED MARRIAGE (FM)

Beginning a dialogue around the issue of forced/ non-consensual marriages in order to:

Prevent CoercionPromote Safety, andBuild Community Accountability

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• The Forced/Non-Consensual Marriage Survey was

developed by the Forced Marriage Project at SALCO

with the aim to gain a better understanding of the

incidence of FM in Ontario.

• The needs of individuals dealing with FM situations

and the existing gaps in resources that hinder the

service providers’ abilities to assist the client.

The Forced/Non-Consensual

Marriage Survey

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Gender of Individuals

Facing Forced Marriage

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Limitations in access to Limitations in access to

helphelp

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• From the data collected on perpetrators, it was found that

most of the individuals facing FM had more than one

perpetrator pressuring them.

Violence• All the individuals forced into the marriage experience violence.

75% of survey respondents reported “Mental or social

pressure” as a form of violence experience by the FM client.

Perpetrators

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Contextualising the practice

of forced marriage in Canada

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Internationally, several jurisdictions have centralized services

and resources for FM victims. Canada can learn from that

international example.

•Centralizing FM including a centralized and national education

and awareness campaign,

•A multisectoral uniform national training,

•Uniform consular services for FM victims,

•A centralized database of FM resources.

Recommendations

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“Professionals argue that mainstream approaches

to service provision are often based on dominant

cultural understandings of freedom from violence

that do not always “fit” South Asian women’s

needs.”

“Likewise, terms like “honour killing” can perform their own type of

violence when used in culturally stigmatizing ways. We conclude that a

more nuanced conceptualization of culture as giving meaning to all

forms of violence combined with a structural conceptualization of

violence as, what we call, multi-scalar, enables a re-thinking of violence

against women in all communities and a deepening of our

understanding of women’s full citizenship.”

-Korteweg, Anna C.; Abji, Salin; Barnoff, Lisa; Mattoo, Deepa. “Citizenship, Culture, and Violence Against Women: Social Service Provision in the South Asian Communities of the GTA. CERIS Research Report. March 2013.

Addressing Forced Marriage

• Taking an anti-racist/ anti-oppressive approach

• Institutional commitment to fighting violence/ abuse of

human rights

• Building public and community accountability

• Creating safe spaces that encourage open and inclusive

dialogue

• Prevention-focused initiatives across communities

• Engaging with both youth and parents/ caregivers/family

members

• Ensuring service to both men and women; of all sexual

orientations

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“FM remains a complex issue in Canada.

SALCO’s survey on the incidence of FM have

made clear that FM is an issue that exists in

Canada, that its impact can be devastating

on the life of the FM victim, and that Canada

has not done enough to protect victims of FM

to date.”-Anis, Maryum; Konanur, Shalini; Mattoo, Deepa; A report on incidence

of FM by SALCO (2013).

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Thank you.

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